Shifrah and Puah

Shemoth 1:15

 

I reviewed this pasuk with my daughter, Esther.  This  activity almost always yields insights..

 

 

Rashi reminds us of the gemarrah in Sotah (11b) which tells us that the names Shifrah and Puah reflected the activities of the midwives.  Shfrah beautified the newborn and Puah cooed it so that the baby stopped crying.

The significance of these acts must be taken in the context of  the mother being  a slave; a woman with a bitter life, bringing a new  baby into that bitter life.  She was burdened by the newborn, which now added to her already impossible burdens.  Shifrah made the newborn more appealing to her, cuter, and allowed her natural love for the baby to be magnified. Puah demonstrated to the mother that the situation was manageable, the baby ( and mother) could be consoled.

 

The scene evokes the idea of natural love for the offspring and how that can be distorted by societal pressures and how it can be aided by unrelated caring people.  In this context, the idea that Shifrah and Puah were actually Egyptian midwives who cared for the Hebrew women is even more appealing.  The ambiguity of the nationhood of the midwives is a peek at the ambiguity of Moshe and their actions in this context are like Torah -  a practical application of goodness that fosters life.